A Delay Discounting Measure of Great Expectations and the Effectiveness of Psychotherapy

Many clients prematurely terminate therapy before they have recovered. One possible explanation for treatment dropout is unmet expectations. Although the effects of unmet role expectations have received much attention in the literature, little is known about unmet outcome expectations. Two studies were designed to look at duration and effectiveness outcome expectations held by individuals within a primary referral base for a training clinic setting—a setting with a slower rate of recovery than other outpatient settings. Study 1 (N 110) used a delay discounting method to find rate-of-recovery expectations associated with differing treatment lengths. Results indicated expectations much higher than the demonstrated effectiveness of therapy associated with training clinics. Study 2 (N 307) replicated Study 1 and examined the possibility of altering outcome expectations through education. Study 2 results indicated that outcome expectations may be altered through client education. Both studies’ results are discussed in terms of reducing premature termination and overall treatment outcome.